Electricity insecurity and SMEs
Abstract
The poor quality of electricity supplies in many developing countries is perceived by SMEs to impact their operations negatively. Voltage fluctuation and power outages can halt production, damage equipment and affect product quality. Enterprise development organisations, similarly, often regard insecure electricity supplies to be a serious constraint on SME development and expansion. This brief summarises evidence from recent research on the impact of electricity insecurity on manufacturing SMEs in developing countries. The research, quantitative and qualitative, focused on four countries where the reliability of electricity is low – Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda – and identified key areas of action to reduce the negative effects.
Citation
Anon. Electricity insecurity and SMEs. Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, UK (2014) 7 pp.
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